This Interactive Honda Ad Lets You Send a Couple on Increasingly Extravagant Dates

RPA's three-tiered Civic spot

Great. Greater. Greatest. Those are your viewing choices in RPA's new interactive video for the Honda Civic, which lets you toggle between a couple's three date scenarios and check out vehicle features along the way.

The story in all three versions is essentially the same: A dude driving a 2016 Honda Civic sedan picks up his gal for a night on the town. They travel the same route, visit the same places and have similar experiences in each clip. The details, however, are markedly different, and the contrasts between the three dates are sometimes extremely amusing.

Some differences are subtle. For example, the sunlight goes from bright, to brighter, to brightest depending on how "great" the date is (sadly, this is not the case in real life). Other variations are more obvious. The spot recalls Honda U.K.'s famous The Other Side interactive film, though the RPA work is more cartoony.

On the "Great" date, the couple wear T-shirts and jeans, and they high-five as the woman slides into the car. "Greater" finds them more dressed up; the guy hands her flowers before they drive off. In "Greatest," they're attired like the king and queen of a sitcom prom, as our hero presents his lady-love with a fluffy pooch as a date-night present.

The greater the date, the more self-consciously zany the action becomes.

"The typical online demo video is a valuable tool for someone who is getting close to buying a vehicle and wants to get a closer look at the specifics," Jason Sperling, executive creative director at RPA, tells AdFreak. "And up to now, it's all followed a similar formula. By creating a unique piece of entertaining content that invites deeper levels of interaction, it makes it more than just a utilitarian tool for a select few. It makes it memorable, sharable and a worthwhile piece of content."

The Civic's features are well integrated into the story line, and it's a hoot to toggle between date variants during product demos. For instance, when the dude cranks up some tunes via Apple CarPlay on the "Great" date, he and his companion share a quick smile; on the "Greater" date, they righteously bop their heads to the beat. And in the "Greatest" version, a groovy '70s-style sax player appears in the back seat for a live performance.

Still, we never do make it to the date that tops them all. The "Greatest" scenario still features a Civic rather than, say, a Ferrari. (Hey, they could have at least upgraded to an Accord!)

Separately, RPA has also released this year's Happy Honda Days TV campaign. Five lovely spots were each melded from three layers—live action, miniature sets and matte paintings. Check out that work below.